Lu Mingyi

Biodata

Background / History

Lu Mingyi grew up in a wealthy household, living in the inner quarters with little exposure to outsiders, particularly women. Before his fall in circumstances, a single bag of bath spices cost more than the small sum Su Yuhe initially entrusted to him for shopping. His upbringing left him unfamiliar with buying ordinary necessities or asking their prices 6.

His late mother had supported numerous retainers and established charitable estates to shelter homeless children and retainers’ relatives. People connected to his father had instructed him to remain with his younger brother, Lu Mingxi, and wait for someone to collect them. By the time he joined Su Yuhe’s household, however, both brothers had been reduced to government slaves 42.

After an unsuccessful attempt to earn money at Xubai’s estate, Lu Mingyi returned with Lu Mingxi and Meng Zhixian to Su Yuhe’s home. He knelt before her and apologized for failing to bring in any income; she accepted responsibility for supporting all three 3.

Appearance

Lu Mingyi is tall and slender, with a handsome face and an aristocratic bearing that attracts attention even in plain cotton clothing 4 14 15.

• Complexion: Exceptionally fair, described as “whiter than snow” 4.
• Features: Swordlike brows, fine eyes, and dark pupils compared to cold, deep pools 4.
• Hair: Ink-black; worn secured with a wooden hairpin and falling over his shoulders when loosened 19.
• Hands: Fair and admired by Li Yun, but reddened, swollen, and itchy from chilblains 4 10.
• Resemblance: Shares Lu Mingxi’s cool, aristocratic looks, though his younger brother appears softer and more innocent 11.

Personality

Lu Mingyi is outwardly composed and reserved. Su Yuhe compares him to water on an ice field: not as forbidding as an iceberg, but still cold and difficult to approach. His restraint can conceal displeasure; when Lu Mingxi passes him an emptied bun, he eats it without complaint despite disliking the arrangement 11 19.

He takes household responsibility seriously, sometimes at his own expense. Anxiety over food, water, and firewood follows him into his dreams, and he eats less when a meal proves insufficient for everyone. His determination to save money also leads him to return purchased ointments and ask Su Yuhe not to spend money on him 8 10 14.

He is protective of Lu Mingxi but frequently stern with him. He intervenes when he believes his young brother may be expected to serve Su Yuhe intimately, yet also restrains him when he disrupts others’ sleep and redirects him toward chores 5 12 24.

His experiences have made him wary rather than openly sympathetic. He regards beauty without sufficient protection as a dangerous gift and doubts whether Su Yuhe’s limited wealth, connections, and standing can keep them safe. His apparent indifference to Ruan Puchuan’s collapse and choking troubles Su Yuhe 16 17 22.

Abilities & Skills

Household Management

Su Yuhe entrusts Lu Mingyi with domestic management because he appears the most reliable of her three new husbands, and later chooses to keep him in that role even when Li Yun is expected to become head husband 6 37.

• Keeps accounts and budgets the two taels allotted for a month’s household expenses 7.
• Tracks food consumption and the costs of water and fuel 8 10 19.
• Restricts daily bathing for the men because both water and heating it cost money 19.
• Assigns Lu Mingxi kitchen work so that Su Yuhe and Meng Zhixian can continue copying books 24.
• Initially lacks practical purchasing experience, including familiarity with fish prices 6 24.

Cooking and Food Preservation

Lu Mingyi begins without cooking experience but gradually takes responsibility for preparing household meals 4 8 13.

• Learns fire-lighting and stir-frying from Su Yuhe, suffering splashes of hot oil during an early attempt 4.
• Makes vegetable congee without having been explicitly taught that dish, earning Su Yuhe’s praise 8.
• Processes bamboo shoots by cutting, washing, boiling, draining, and drying them under her instructions 8 23.
• Practices knife skills on sweet potatoes, but cuts his hand badly enough to require treatment 13.
• Helps produce increasingly competent meals alongside Lu Mingxi 24.

Literacy and Book Copying

Lu Mingyi can write, although he has gone a long time without doing so when Su Yuhe gives him copying work 27.

• Attempts to join the household’s book-copying work as an alternative to fulfilling his labor quota outside 27.
• Chilblains and stiff knuckles interfere with brush control, causing him to blot the paper 27.
• Su Yuhe postpones his copying until his hands have fully healed; the supplied chapters do not establish a completed paid copy by him 27.

Relationships

• Su Yuhe — His wife and the person who takes responsibility for supporting him. He defends her when he thinks Li Yun is criticizing her, while she insists on treating his injuries and recognizes domestic labor as sufficient work without an additional outside job 3 9 13 16.
• Lu Mingxi — His younger brother. Lu Mingyi protects him, disciplines him, and remains attentive to changes in his behavior. After outsiders inquire about them, he firmly instructs Mingxi to stop discussing their former life 5 12 42 45.
• Meng Zhixian — A fellow husband of equal initial status. They share chores, but Meng resents Lu Mingyi’s manner of acting like a principal husband and his tolerance of Mingxi. Lu Mingyi counters Meng’s criticism by arguing that earning money is not the only contribution to a family 8 19 44 45.
• Li Yun — A helpful neighbor and Su Yuhe’s prospective head husband. Lu Mingyi feels both grateful for his competence and uneasy about being overshadowed by him. He later suggests handing household finances to Li Yun, but Su Yuhe declines 10 37.
• Ruan Puchuan — A neighboring government slave whom Lu Mingyi initially treats with polite reserve. He helps Ruan up after a choking episode, and Su Yuhe asks him to tend Ruan’s untreated injuries 21 22.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Settling into Su Yuhe’s Household

• Returns from Xubai’s estate without earnings and faces the household’s shortage of sleeping space, clothing, and quilts 3 4.
• Takes charge of shopping money and household accounts while learning basic domestic work 6 7 8.
• Gradually assumes the routine work that allows Su Yuhe to concentrate on earning money through book copying 13 24.

Injury and Medical Expenses

• Cuts his hand while practicing with a kitchen knife; Su Yuhe also notices that his chilblains have worsened and takes him to a clinic 13.
• Returns his ointments to avoid the expense, prompting Su Yuhe to go back for them 14 15.
• Develops a fever during the journey home. Su Yuhe later gives him ginger soup, the warmest sleeping position, and reminders to apply his medicine 17 19.

Preparations for the Great Cold

• Helps carry and dry sweet potatoes as the household gathers provisions 35 37.
• Raises the question of Li Yun’s future position and wedding preparations; Su Yuhe prioritizes warmth and supplies over marriage arrangements 37.
• Is asked to barter for goose and duck down while continuing to manage household affairs 37.

Inquiries into the Brothers’ Past

• Considers whether his parents’ former associates have located him after strangers ask about the three government slaves 42.
• Rejects Mingxi’s suggestion that their father may have come, telling him to regard their previous life as finished 42.
• Later notices that Mingxi has become unusually distracted following a trip to town 45.

Work at Xubai’s Estate

• Reluctantly accepts Su Yuhe’s arrangement for all three men to work at Xubai’s farm estate and accompanies her there the next morning 50.

Notable Quotes

“We’re all working for the household. What’s there to thank me for?” 8

“Treat everything from before as something from a previous life. From now on, you and I are merely government slaves who were brought out to the countryside.” 42

“Earning money isn’t the only way to contribute to the family.” 45